Prezident Brown - Contributed

For sometime, Prezident Brown has been reggae's best kept secret. With a new album, the self-proclaimed chanter is pushing for another crack at the mainstream. Common Prosperity is the title of the set which was released in July on Brown's Tomorrow's Children label. It was co-produced by his bass player Devon Bradshaw and Ian 'Beezy' Coleman, long-time guitarist for Ziggy Marley's band.

Trombonist Vin Gordon and saxophonist Glen DaCosta, veteran session players who have worked with the Wailers and Zap Pow, also worked on Common Prosperity. So too Courtney Diedrick, drummer in Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley's band.

Born Fitz Albert Cotterell in Clarendon but raised in St Mary, Brown was a low-key soldier in the roots-reggae revival of the 1990s. He was one of the artistes handpicked by Chris Blackwell to launch his Island Jamaica label in 1995.

Brown album for the label was never released and his association with Island Jamaica was short-lived. In the last 10 years, he has endeared himself to roots lovers with albums like To Jah Only and Showcase Volumes One and Two.